


Perfect Strangers

by AnonymousRogers



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, AU Steve Rogers, F/M, Reader-Insert, Steve Rogers/Reader - Freeform, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28671129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousRogers/pseuds/AnonymousRogers
Summary: Y/n runs to New York City on a whim after a messy breakup. She gets stuck with no phone, no plan, and no place to stay. Steve sees her and comes to help, letting her stay in his apartment, which he shares with his friends Sam and Bucky. Maybe it's because he helped her, or because she was feeling adventurous, but she develops feelings for him and can't stay away. Does he feel the same way? Or was it all in her head? And what happens when her past catches up to her?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Kudos: 13





	1. Unexpected.

You got off the train at Grand Central Station and looked around. It was fairly late, so not many people were there. You pulled out your phone to try to find a place to stay, but it died within minutes. _Uh oh._ You had been to the city before, but still didn’t know it very well, and had no clue where to go from there.

“Great,” you sighed. You put your phone back in your pocket and looked around the station. You saw a payphone on one of the walls and walked over to it. As you dug through your pockets you realized you didn’t have any change. “Dammit!” you yelled as you slammed the phone back onto the switch hook. 

“You uh— need some help?” You turned to where the voice came from and saw a tall blonde man walking toward you. He reached into his pocket, pulled out some coins, and held them out for you. 

“Um, thank you.” You took the change and inserted it into the coin slot. Just as you were about to dial, you realized you didn’t have very many numbers memorized. You _could_ call your friend, but she lived a few hours outside the city, and it was already late. _I guess I’ll be staying here for now_ , you thought to yourself. You slowly hung up the phone for the second time. 

“You’re not from around here are you?”

You turned to face the man again. “What gave it away?” you asked jokingly. 

“Well for starters, I’ve only ever seen tourists and musicians spend more than five minutes at the station if they’re not waiting for a train.” He motioned around you. “And since I don’t see any instruments…”

“You got me,” you smiled. “But I’m not exactly here to sight see either.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked as he tilted his head, smiling back in return.

“I guess I just needed to get out for a bit, y’know? Clear my head.”

The man looked concerned for a moment, then just curious. “What are you running from?”

“Who says I’m running from anything?”

“I know that look,” he claimed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the payphone. “I’ve _had_ that look myself.”

You sighed and dropped your head a bit.

“Come on, what is it? Parents? Best friend? _Boy_ friend?”

You shifted your weight at the last option.

“Ah,” his smile fell a little. “That’s it, isn’t it? Had a fight with your boyfriend? Told you, it’s always something.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No! Okay? No, you’re wrong he’s-- he’s _not_ my boyfriend.”

“Oh, so ex then.”

“No-- well not exactly, I-- look stop acting like you know everything about me, okay? You don’t even know me!” You exploded at him. It wasn’t necessarily _him_ you were mad at, he just the only one around.

He threw his hands up in defense. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I uh, I’ll leave you to it then.” He started to walk away.

“Wait--” He turned to look back at you. His eyes were soft, almost welcoming. You knew he didn’t do anything wrong, it was just a touchy subject for you. “I’m sorry… You were just being nice and I flipped out on you-- I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” he replied. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth to show he really didn’t mind.

“Hey, um-- my phone died. Is there any place around here I can buy a charger?”

The man took a second to think. “Yeah actually, there’s a tech shop a few blocks from here. C’mon, I’ll walk you.” He nodded toward the station exit.

“Oh, it’s alright, you don’t have to--”

“No really, c’mon, it’s not safe out there for you to be walking around by yourself. And not very many cabs run this way past 10.”

You chuckled. It was a nice gesture and he was probably right anyway. “Okay.” You started walking with him, then he stopped and turned to face you.

“Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Steve by the way. Steve Rogers.”

You smiled and extended your arm out. He quickly reached out his own and shook your hand. “Nice to meet you, Steve. I’m y/n.”

The two of you kept walking. You walked in silence at first, but you figured you could get to know Steve a bit better, just something to pass the time, so you spoke up. “So, how long have you lived in the city?”

“Oh man, uh… My whole life pretty much. I grew up in Brooklyn and moved around a bit as I got older but stayed in or around the city for the most part. What about you? Where you from?”

“Upstate,” you chuckled. “Clearly not so used to the city.”

“It’s alright, you’ll get the hang of it. Depending on how long you plan on sticking around.”

“Right, right, of course.”

“Hey I-- I wanted to apologize again for earlier, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. Your business is your business.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize, really. I guess I was just stressed.”

“Fair enough.”

“You were basically right earlier anyway.”

He looked over at you as you both kept walking. “What do you mean?”

“About why I came here in the first place. My ‘ex’. If I can even call him that. We barely dated, and it was only for a few weeks. The problem is I’ve known him for so long, even my parents liked him.”

“That’s a problem?”

“It is when they have high expectations… I broke up with him, but couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents. When they finally found out, instead of talking to me about it, they actually _called_ him.”

“Oh man, that sounds awful.”

“Yeah… Anyway he came by and tried to-- I don’t know, win me over? Clearly it didn’t work but he started getting more persistent. I saw him waiting outside my house today and I panicked… So I ran. Took the first train I could find and-- ended up here.”

“Wow that’s… a lot. No wonder you were so stressed back the-- no, no no-- shit!”

He pulled on the door to a shop, but it was locked. He hung his head and sighed, then turned back to face you. “I’m sorry, I could’ve sworn they were still open. They must’ve closed early for some reason.”

You sighed as well. _That’s unfortunate._ “It’s okay… are there any cheap hotels nearby?”

“Around here? I doubt it. You’re probably looking at two to three hundred for the night.”

“Right… I guess I’ll go back to the station then, just wait it out till morning.”

“What? No way. I mean… I know it might seem forward, but I’ve got room at my place, you’re welcome to stay the night. And you can charge your phone too.”

“You want me to follow a stranger I just met, spend the night in an unfamiliar place, in a city I barely know?”

Steve gasped sarcastically. “A _stranger_?” He brought a hand up to his chest. “I’m hurt, y/n. I thought we had gotten to know each other pretty well!” He dropped his hand and talked normally again. “Look the way I see it, you could spend the night on the floor of a filthy train station, or you could take your chances and sleep on a pretty decent couch if I do say so myself. And for what it’s worth, I promise I’m not some punk off the street trying to take advantage.”

Despite the way he was just joking around, you could tell he was serious about that last part. You looked around as you weighed your options. “Oh what the hell. Sure.”

“Awesome,” Steve said.

It might not have been the wisest decision, but Steve _did_ seem decent enough, and he was right, you _really_ didn’t want to spend the night in Grand Central. Out of all the things that could’ve happened that night, going home with someone you just met was of the least expected. You walked beside him and got to talking a bit more. He told you that he also had a messy breakup, she had cheated on him and he found out through a friend. You explained a bit more about your own ex, who had been borderline stalking you, and how you resented your parents for practically pushing the two of you together. He told you a bit about his parents, how his father was in the military, and had died overseas. And how his mother was the greatest woman he’d ever known. She raised him to be respectful, but to also know when to fight back. 

“It hit really hard when she passed, even though I knew it was coming,” he said. He didn’t necessarily sound too upset, but you still felt bad for making him relive it. Suddenly he remembered something and you heard him mumble a curse under his breath.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re almost there. It’s just-- God I’m such an idiot. I forgot to mention-- I live with two roommates.”

“Oh--”

“They’re great guys, really. I’ve known one of them since I was a kid, and the other has helped me out countless times. It’s just-- I understand if you’re not comfortable with that. I should’ve told you before making you walk this far, totally my fault. I-- if you want I can pay for a hotel for you if you’d prefer to--”

“Steve,” you cut off his rambling. “It’s okay.” You smiled gently. It wasn’t clear what it was about him, but it didn’t take much for him to earn your trust. You both kept walking and soon after, you came up to an apartment building. It looked expensive, which was a bit surprising considering Steve was wearing a simple t-shirt, jacket, and jeans. He didn’t really look like he’d afford this place but it seemed doable with two roommates. “Wow,” you whispered out of instinct. Steve chuckled.

“I know, pretty nice, right? Just wait till you see inside.” He opened the door for you, and you stepped through into a lobby. There was a wall of mailboxes, and a desk with what you assumed to be a doorman sitting behind it. Steve led you to an elevator, inserted a key, and pushed the floor number. You rode the elevator up and it opened to a hallway with only three doors. You followed Steve to the last door down the hall and he unlocked it and let you in.

You were in awe at the apartment. It definitely wasn’t a studio, that’s for sure. It wasn’t like it was incredibly big, but the way the decoration was minimal made it seem a bit bigger. Steve followed you through the door, closed it behind him, and tossed his keys on the counter. “You want some water?” he asked.

“Oh, um yeah that’d be great, thanks,” you replied kindly. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and handed it to you. “Thanks,” you repeated. You took a sip then put the cap back on. “So,” you looked around. “Where are your roommates?”

“Probably getting food or something-- none of us really enjoy cooking all that much. Oh--” He pulled out his phone and saw loads of missed messages. “Yeah they’re-- here let me tell them to bring a little extra.”

“Oh you don’t have to--”

“Done,” he smiled.

He put his phone back in his pocket and started walking toward a hallway. “I’ll be right back, feel free to make yourself at home,” he said, motioning toward the living room. You took a seat on one of the couches and drank some more of your water, but curiosity got the best of you and you stood up to look around a bit. There were a few pictures here and there of a younger Steve with another man. _That must be one of his roommates_. You walked toward one of the windows and peeked outside. It had an amazing view over the city. Lights glittered in every direction just like stars dropping to the earth. The views upstate were beautiful sometimes, but in a different way, nothing quite like this. Steve came back with an arm full of blankets and pillows. “Beautiful,” you heard him whisper. You couldn’t tell if he was talking to you or to himself.

“Hm?” You turned to him.

“Oh-- uh, the view,” he said as he walked over to you. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Oh, yeah. This place is fantastic, how do you afford it? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all. A friend of mine actually owns...well-- the entire building.”

“Really?” _He has a rich friend? Woah._ “Who is it?”

“Tony Stark.”

 _Tony Stark??_ You almost spit out your drink. “ _The_ Tony Stark?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “You heard of him?”

“Heard of him? He’s like one of the most famous billionaires ever!”

“Yeah, well, to me he’s always just been Tony.”

“Wait, wait. Is _he_ the friend you’ve known since you were little?” you asked, completely intrigued.

“No, that would be Bucky. Tony just owns the building, he doesn’t live here. And _certainly_ not with two roommates,” he laughed.

“Right, that makes sense. So, when are they--” The door opened again and two stepped through holding bags from a restaurant you didn’t recognize.

“Hey Steve, why’d you ask us to bring--” one of the men cut himself off when he saw you standing in the apartment. He was _almost_ as tall as Steve, but certainly as muscular as him. He was white, but looked a bit tan. He had short brown hair and the brightest blue eyes. You felt a chill when he made eye contact-- as if he could see into your whole life with a single glance. “Hi,” he said simply.

“Hi,” you returned.

Steve made things a bit easier by introducing you two. “Bucky, this is y/n. Y/n, this is--”

“I’m Bucky,” he reached out a hand and you took it. “How you doin’, doll?” he said with a slight Brooklyn accent.

“Doll?” you chuckled.

“Sorry,” Steve said. “Bucky’s… old fashioned.”

“It’s alright,” you laugh. “I like it, it’s different.”

“I’m Sam by the way. Since no one thought to mention it.” The second man waved from behind the kitchen counter. He also seemed very strong, but didn’t really _look_ as muscular as the other two. He had buzzed black hair, brown eyes, and a goatee. His skin was a chocolate brown-- _how are they all so gorgeous?_ you thought to yourself.

“Hi, Sam.”

“Y/n’s gonna be staying with us tonight,” Steve explained.

“Ohh, staying the night, huh?” Bucky teased Steve.

“It’s not like that, Buck…” You could’ve sworn you saw Steve turn a slight shade of pink, but it went away pretty quick. “Back off, pal. She’s just having some trouble in the city and needed a place to stay. Oh-- that reminds me, you need a charger right?”

“Yeah, my phone’s beyond dead,” you said as you pulled out your cell.

Steve went to grab a charger and handed it to you. You found an outlet in the kitchen and plugged it in, then placed your phone on the counter and walked back to the living room with the three men. They had gotten the food out of the bags and were sitting around a table eating.

“Y/n!” Steve called. “Come eat, it’s Italian night so we’ve got pasta, pizza-- and if you’re not into that, there’s some salad too.”

You sat down beside him and grabbed a plate. The food was delicious. You could tell everyone else thought so too-- because there wasn’t much talking, just mouths full of good food. After ten minutes or so, the food was gone. You hadn’t realized how hungry you had gotten, but you were beyond full now.

“So,” Bucky started. “Where are you from, y/n?”

“Upstate,” you nodded. “I really don’t know much about the city. Thank God Steve was there to help out. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him,” you grinned.

“Wait so let me get this straight-- you came to the city without any luggage, no plan, and a dead phone?” Sam asked.

“Sam.” Steve gave the man a stern look. “Don’t be rude.”

“I--it’s fine,” you said to Steve, then turned to Sam and Bucky, who also seemed a bit confused. “It’s a long story but, basically just a messy break-up and I made a decision on a whim to run.”

“Sounds rough, I’m sorry,” Sam said. You just smiled awkwardly. It _was_ rough, and it was just the beginning. You didn’t know what to say, but luckily Steve chimed in again.

“Alright guys, I’m sure y/n has had a long day, let’s let her rest, huh?” He stood up and waved everyone out of the room. He lifted the couch cushions and pulled out the pull-out bed. Then he helped you set up the blankets and pillows. He stood up beside you and brushed off his hands. “There ya go,” he said softly. 

“Thank you.”

“Oh it’s no problem, I just figured this is probably better than the couch itself.”

“No I mean-- for everything. You really saved me tonight, Steve. Thank you.” He just looked at you kindly, and you realized just how close you were. Your eyes fell to his lips, but only for a moment. _What are you doing, you just met him!_ “Uh, I-- I should get some sleep.”

“Yeah, of course. Sleep well,” he smiled, then he left to his own room.

You flopped down on the bed and pulled the blankets up. “What was _that_ ?” you said to yourself. You could’ve _sworn_ he looked at you the same way. Or were you just imagining it because you _wanted_ it to be true? _I mean, yeah he’s cute and all but you don’t know him! Sure he helped you out. And-- let you stay in his home. And sure he seems great… and kind, and… perfect… But still-- You can’t like someone you just met!_

_Can you?_


	2. You-know-who...

"C'mon man just admit it, you like her."

"What?" Steve chuckled. "Where'd you get _that_ from?"

"You're telling me you don't think she's pretty?"

"Well-- I never said _that_. She's beautiful, of course she is. But I didn't bring her here just because I like her, I brought her because she needed some help."

"So you _do_ like her!"

"No-- Come on, Buck. I'm just not ready for that. Besides, she's clearly got a lot of her own crap going on."

 _My own crap? Is he saying I have too much baggage for him? Wait-- he called me beautiful?_ You shifted in the bed to get their attention.

"Wait-- okay shh, she's waking up."

You opened your eyes to see Steve and Bucky in the kitchen.

"Hey, look who's finally up," Steve said from the kitchen. You sat up on the bed and looked around. Sam wasn't in the room. _Maybe he's still sleeping_. You got up and walked over to the two men.

"Good morning," you said with a yawn.

"Mornin'," Bucky replied. He was eating a plate full of eggs and bacon.

"Wow that smells delicious," you said sitting at the table with him. Steve placed a plate in front of you and poured some eggs out of a pan. He went back to the stove and grabbed a stack of pancakes and more strips of crispy bacon, and put them on the table.

"Oh it is. Steve's pancakes are the best," said Bucky.

"I thought you didn't like cooking," you said, smiling up at Steve. He grabbed a plate of his own, and a pancake off the stack.

"I don't, normally. But I do it on certain occasions."

"Oh? What's the occasion?" you asked as you got some food on your fork.

"Well," he looked from his food up at you. "We have a guest," he said with a soft smile. You smiled back and kept eating. You heard Bucky snicker beside you, but just brushed it off. "This is great, Steve. Thanks."

"Not a problem," he said as he ate his pancake.

"So, where's Sam? Is he still sleeping?" you asked.

"Nah," Bucky started. "He goes on a run practically every morning."

"Wow." You finished your food and walked over to the counter where your phone was charging. You unplugged it and checked your messages.

**Mom: *4 missed calls***

**Are you okay?**

**Where are you?**

**Y/n??**

**Call me!**  
  
  


**Avery: Hey, I ran into you-know-who earlier, he said you didn't come home last night? He's such a creep but-- where are you?**

**Hello?**

**Y/n? Are you good?**

**If you need a place you can come by my apartment any time. 569 Leaman Place.**

***3 missed calls***  
  
  


"Shit..." you said to yourself.

"Everything alright?" Steve asked from the table.

"Yeah, just a lot of missed messages. I didn't really tell anyone where I was going." You walked back over to the living room and dialed your mom's number. _Might as well at least let her know I'm safe..._

"Hello? Y/n?" you heard from the other line.

"Heyy mom. Sorry I didn't call back yesterday, my phone died and I couldn't charge it for a while."

"You had me worried sick! Where are you, anyway? Avery called and asked if you were here-- why aren't you at home?"

"I came to the city, and-- maybe because I have a new stalker thanks to you? Seriously mom, he won't leave me alone!"

"The city? So then you're with Avery?"

"No, I couldn't find her address without my phone but I met-- someone." You turned to see Steve. He was talking to Bucky as they finished their breakfast.

"Who?"

"His name is Steve. He let me stay the night and charge my phone. I'll probably go to Avery's in a bit to get out of his hair." If you were being honest, you didn't really _want_ to leave. But you didn't want to impose any more on Steve. He had already been so nice-- it was probably better not to push your luck.

"You stayed the night with a _stranger_??"

"Well not a _total_ stranger," you smiled. "I'd say I got to know him a bit." Steve's words from the night before echoed in your head. _'A stranger? I'm hurt y/n. I thought we'd gotten to know each other pretty well!'_

"Well okay, just be safe. You said you're in the city right?"

"Yes mom, I'm in the city, and don't worry, I _am_ safe. I gotta go, I'm gonna call Avery now."

"Okay honey, I love you!"

"Love you too mom..." You hung up and Steve came around the couch. You smiled up at him then called your friend. The line rang a few times, then went to voicemail. You sighed.

"What is it?" Steve asked as he sat down beside you.

"My friend Avery. She lives in the city, and offered for me to go stay with her for a bit, but it went to voicemail." You checked your phone. "11 am... Honestly she's probably still asleep," you chuckled. "I hate to ask but-- any chance I could stay just a bit longer? I know we said it was just for the night but--"

"Don't worry about it, y/n. It's not a problem. Actually-- I was about to go get some coffee, do you wanna come with?"

"Sure! Where are we going, you think maybe Avery can meet us there?"

"Yeah, of course. It's the Coffee Club, not too far from here."

You typed the name in your phone and got an address. You sent it to Avery, leaving a message.  
  
  


**Came to the city last night, I'll take you up on your offer. Meet me here.**  
  
  


"Alright," you said as you hit send. "All good."

"Great-- Buck, you comin'?" Steve asked his friend.

"Nah you go on without me, I've gotta meet up with Tony and see if he'll give me a job," he replied.

"You're going with Tony Stark?" you asked, maybe a bit too eagerly. Bucky chuckled at your excitement.

"Yeah, I figured it's time he actually pays me instead of paying _for_ me." He put on a jacket and slid his phone into his pocket. "You can meet him some other time, doll. I really gotta get going. See ya." With that, he was out the door, leaving just you and Steve in the apartment. _Some other time? Was he implying that I'd see him again? I mean, I sure would like to..._

"Alright, you ready to go?" Steve interrupted your thoughts. You really didn't have much to do to get ready. All you had with you was your phone, which was now fully charged thanks to him.

"Yep, all set."

He grabbed his keys off the counter and opened the door. "After you," he said as he held it open.

"Thanks," you said as you walked through, and waited for him to follow and lock the door behind him. You walked to the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. He led you back through the front door of the building.

Steve stopped right outside. "It's not too far, just a few blocks. Close enough to walk, or we can take a cab if you'd prefer-- up to you."

"We can walk, it's actually pretty nice out," you answered.

"Sounds good," he said as he started walking down the street, making sure to go at your same pace. "So, I know it's none of my business, but this guy you dated-- or, barely dated-- no offense but he seems like a real punk. Following you to your house after you told him to get lost?"

"I guess you could say that," you chuckled a little at his use of 'punk'. _I guess Bucky isn't the only one who's a little old fashioned._ "I just don't know what I'm gonna do about it. I don't think I'm in any real danger or anything, it's just _so_ annoying, y'know?"

"I'm sure he'll give it up soon enough... If not, you could always try a restraining order," Steve said, only half joking.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it but-- honestly I think I'm just too nice for that. Besides, with the way my parents feel about him, they'd probably shun me if I did that."

"If he's so terrible, why do your parents like him so much?" Steve said curiously.

"He wasn't so bad at first, which is why I said yes to going out with him in the first place. But after a week or so he started getting really possessive and controlling. I just couldn't get it through to him that I need to be my own person sometimes, you know?"

"Actually I do," he said with his brows furrowed. "I had something similar and it-- well, it didn't end well. I'm pretty sure she hates me now, but she's probably better off without me."

"Better without you? You can't be _that_ bad," you said in a light tone.

"It's not that, it's just-- I don't know. It wasn't meant to be. We were too different, and it changed us. Whenever we were together it just got toxic. It got to the point where I couldn't stand the person I was when I was with her. And I couldn't tell if she was the same way because of our relationship or if it was just her natural personality, but I had to get out. One day, Bucky came home and said he saw her kiss some guy at a restaurant-- had pictures and everything. So I used it as an excuse to finally break it off."

"That... sounds tough. Are you better now? With who you are and everything?"

"I think so. Just terrified to get back out there... Bucky keeps trying to set me up with friends of friends but-- I don't wanna mess it up again."

"It wasn't your fault, Steve. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you'd hope they would. Plus, for what it's worth, you seem pretty great to me." He gave you a soft smile and the two of you kept walking toward the cafe. A few blocks later, you were there. You walked in and saw decor somewhat resembling a 40s diner. It was colorful, and the atmosphere was extremely welcoming.

"Hey, Rogers! You want the usual?" A barista from behind the counter asked as soon as Steve walked through the door.

"That'd be great Jacob, and uh--" he looked at you. "You want a look at the menu, or do you want the same as me? I promise it's good."

"Sure," You smiled and looked at Jacob behind the counter. "I'll have what he's having."

"Excellent choice," Jacob said before he got to work on the two drinks. Steve led you outside to a table on the patio of the cafe. He pulled a chair out for you and took a seat across the table.

"So, I'm assuming you come here often?" you asked. Judging by the way Jacob greeted him, you were almost certain the answer was yes.

"Oh yeah, all the time. It's my favorite place to just-- clear my mind. Sometimes I'll bring a good book or a sketch pad and lose all track of time."

"A sketchpad, huh? You're an artist?" You loved learning more about Steve. The mysterious man who you'd met at the train station was quickly becoming a lot more interesting.

"I wouldn't call myself an artist, I just like to doodle sometimes." Just then, Jacob brought out two mugs full of coffee.

"I've seen his 'doodles'. He's being modest." He stated as he placed the mugs in front of you and Steve. "Enjoy, you guys."

"Thanks, Jake," Steve said sarcastically. Clearly he _was_ trying to be modest.

"Thank you." You said to the barista before he went back inside.

"He's just saying that because the best _he_ can draw is a crooked stick figure," he said, trying to shift the focus. You laughed and almost started choking on your drink. "You okay?" Steve said, still half laughing.

"Yeah, ha, I'm fine... Wow, this really is good," you said, referring to the coffee.

"See? What'd I say, best cup of coffee in New York," Steve added. You smiled, but the expression on your face quickly changed when you heard a voice a few yards away.

"Hey!"

_No. No, no no._

"What the hell, y/n? You ditch me, don't return my calls. Now you're out with some guy??" You stood from your chair and so did Steve. He looked at you, then turned his head to see the man walking toward you. He was coming your way aggressively, so Steve turned his whole body to face him.

"Who I'm out with is _none_ of your business, Beck. How did you even know I was here? What, are you following me?"

"Your mom called. Told me you were in the city. She said she was worried about you."

_Of course she did..._

"Who is this guy anyway?" Beck motioned at Steve.

"Steve, this is Beck. Quentin Beck. Beck, this is Steve. That's all _you_ need to know."

Steve looked at you with a hint of worry in his expression. "Is this...?" You simply nodded, and he looked back at Beck. "I think you should leave."

"Sure, but _she's_ coming with me." Beck looked at you.

"Like hell I am!" You shouted at him.

"Alright, that's it, come on y/n, let's get you home, huh?" Beck started walking toward you but Steve stepped in between.

"Leave me alone." You said from behind Steve, but Beck tried to reach around him and grab your arm. Steve gripped his jacket and pushed him back until he hit the wall of the cafe.

"You heard her! Get lost." He looked dead into Beck's eyes. Part of you was relieved, and once again thankful that Steve was there. But part of you was scared. _Was this the side of Steve even he was afraid of?_ Beck pushed Steve back and tried to swing, but Steve dodged it and landed a hit of his own right on Beck's jaw. He stumbled back, holding his face, and scoffed at you before throwing his hands up and walking off.

"Y/n!" Your friend ran to you from across the street.

"Avery!" You ran to her too and hugged her.

"I just saw that, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." You looked at Steve and gave him a thankful look.

"Come on, we should go to my place just in case he comes back." Avery pulled lightly on your arm.

"Oh uh-- okay, yeah." You turned to Steve again. "Thank you... That's twice now you've saved me."

"No problem." He smiled back at you. "I couldn't just stand by and watch."

"I-- I should get going."

"Right, yeah of course. Stay safe, y/n." You turned to walk away, but Steve called out again. "Oh-- wait!" You looked back at him and saw him run inside to grab a pen from Jacob. He came back out and scribbled something on a napkin, then handed it to you. "In case you ever find yourself lost in the city again," he shrugged. "Feel free to give me a call... anytime."

"Will do." You gave him one last look before turning to walk with Avery. He sat back down at your table and gave a small wave goodbye.

"Who's _that_?" Avery looked at you curiously.

" _That_ would be Steve. He's... a friend." You smiled to yourself, knowing it wouldn't be long before you called him...


	3. Beauty and The Beast

(Steve's POV)

"Thanks, Buck." Steve grabbed the bowl of ice from his friend as Bucky sat down on the couch beside him. He slowly sank his hand inside it and groaned from the pain.

"What happened, man?"

"Y/n's ex boyfriend ran into us at the cafe yesterday..." Steve let his hand soak in the cold water to try to reduce the swelling on his knuckles.

"So... you punched him?" Bucky chuckled.

"He had it coming... He started yelling at y/n and then he tried to grab her."

"Really? What a jerk..." There was a knock at the door and Bucky stood to answer it. He opened the door to two NYPD officers standing outside their apartment. "Can I help you?"

"Steve Rogers?"

Steve stood up and walked over to the door when he heard his name. "Yes?"

"You're under arrest for assault in the third degree." He pulled out his handcuffs and cuffed Steve.

"Wait what?" Steve looked at Bucky, worried.

"Someone at the Coffee Club reported it, and there were plenty of patrons that were able to identify you."

"That son of a --"

"Buck." Steve interrupted him. He turned back to the officer. "This is a mistake, it was self defense!"

"That's not what we were told." He started pulling Steve back toward the elevator.

"Wait! What's gonna happen to him?" Bucky walked behind them.

"Either up to a year in jail, or a $2,000 fine... Hope you have some savings, son."

"Bucky, call Tony." Steve stepped into the elevator with the two officers. "Call Tony! And-- wait! Wait." He pulled away from the arresting officer. "My phone's in my pocket, can he take it?" The officer took Steve's phone out of his pocket and handed it to Bucky. "If y/n calls, tell her..." he sighed. "Just tell her what happened and make sure she's safe. I don't want this creep bothering her again just because I'm gone... And don't let her go to the station... I don't want her to see me like this." He stepped back and the elevator doors closed, leaving Bucky.

(Y/n's POV)

"How'd you sleep last night?" Avery sat next to you at her diner table.

"Pretty good, but I'll admit, I think that lumpy guest bed might need a new mattress." You chuckled as you pulled your phone out.

"So I was thinking we'd go by your place to get some clothes later, anything else you need, then we can come back here until we figure out this whole Beck thing." She stopped to look at you-- no answer. "Y/n?"

"Huh?" You spaced out looking at Steve's name in your contacts.

Avery laughed. "Are you gonna call him or what?"

"What?"

"Oh come on! Your stranger guy, he's perfect!"

"Isn't it a little soon though?"

"Who cares! Did you see his face when he gave you his number? He's probably sitting by his phone just waiting for your call!"

"I doubt that... But okay, here goes nothin'." You hit the call button and heard the line ring. And ring... and ring... "Huh."

"What?"

"Voicemail." You put your phone on the table, slightly disappointed.

"Well, maybe he wasn't near his phone-- or he didn't hear it. You should try again."

"And what just keep spamming his phone until he picks up?" You looked at your phone, tempted to try at least once more.

"Absolutely. Y/n-- I saw the way he was looking at you. He's totally into you!"

You sighed, but picked up your phone and tried again. And again, it rang, and rang, and rang some more. But no answer. "He's-- probably busy..." You put your phone down again and walked away from the table to go sit on the couch. Avery followed you and turned the TV on.

"I'm sure he'll call back soon enough, y/n."

What if he doesn't? What if he changed his mind? You tried to shift your focus to the tv, but couldn't help but overthink. Half an hour later, you heard your phone ring. You jumped up and ran to it. You picked up as soon as you saw his name displayed across the screen. "Steve?"

"Y/n! Y/n, is that you?"

"Bucky?" You were confused. Did Steve give me the wrong number? How did he know it was me, I never gave him mine.

"Y/n, I'm sorry, I was in another room making some calls, I didn't hear his phone ring, then I hopped in the shower and totally forgot to check it until now--"

"Bucky," you interrupted him. "Is this Steve's phone?"

"Yeah, it's--"

"Why do you have his phone? Where is he?"

"That's what I'm tryna tell you, doll, it--" You heard him sigh. "Something kinda-- happened."

"What is it? Is Steve alright? Is he hurt?" You started pacing around the room.

"Well you remember his little encounter with your psycho ex?"

"Yeah..." Oh my God, did Beck go after him?

"Well after it happened, someone reported Steve to the police, I'm betting it was that punk... Anyway, some cops showed up to the apartment and took him down to the station. I called Tony already. We're gonna go get him, don't worry, it'll be fine."

"You're going there right now? I'll come with you!" You started grabbing the jacket Avery let you borrow.

"No-- Y/n he doesn't want you to go down there. He told me himself."

You froze and slowly sat on the arm of the couch. "What? He-- he doesn't wanna see me?"

"No! No, it's not like that. The opposite really, he doesn't want you to see him. At least, not like that..."

"Why?" you asked softly.

"It's complicated, y/n. There's still a lot you don't know." He was right. There was so much you still didn't know about Steve. But that didn't mean you didn't care.

"Is-- is it about when he was with his ex?"

"He told you about that?" He sounded surprised. Was that not something he talked about?

"Uh-- yeah, a little."

"Oh... Well, yeah it's kind of about that. I'll let him explain it. I'm sure he'll call you as soon as he's back, okay?" Bucky waited for you to say something but you stayed silent. "Y/n? He'll be back in-- I don't know, an hour. Two tops. Okay? Don't worry."

"Okay..." You spoke almost inaudibly.

"Alright, I'll see you later, doll. Take care. Oh-- and call me if you need anything alright? Steve was worried your boy might try to bother you again."

"He's-- not my boy."

"Right, sorry. Anyway, I gotta go, Tony's gonna be here any minute now."

"Okay... Bye, Bucky."

"Bye, y/n." The call ended, and you sank down into the couch.

"Is everything okay?" You realized Avery heard the conversation, or at least your half of it.

"Uh-- yeah. Yeah I'm just waiting for him to call me back now." You turned your attention back to the tv, it was just on some random sitcom.

"Hey how about a movie?" Avery grabbed the remote and switched it to one of your favorites, Beauty and The Beast. She stood up and closed all the blinds and curtains in the room for a better view. You were too distracted by Steve to pay attention to the beginning, but after a while you started getting lost in the film. By the time the Beast saves Belle from the wolves, you were consumed by the story. Then you saw Gaston come up again.

"Go away!" You shouted at the screen. "No one likes you!" Gaston was your least favorite villain. There was just something about him that made him unbearable... More time passed, and it got to another of your favorite scenes-- the part when they were playing in the snow. You'd always thought it was beautiful how Belle could see past the way the Beast saw himself. When they sang 'Something Else', you loved that they both realized that they liked each other, but neither one knew the other felt the same way.

The movie ended, and you were sobbing. Avery was also crying, but not nearly as much as you. You had a tendency to get completely lost in the characters and their lives. She stood to open the curtains and you closed your eyes as light flooded the room. "Wow, I really thought it was late already."

Avery pointed at a clock hanging on the wall. "Ha, nope. It's barely 1:30. We could watch another one if you wan--" Your phone rang, and for some reason, your heart sank. You were overthinking again, expecting the call to be bad news despite what Bucky had said. Avery watched as you just stood motionless. "Well? Aren't you gonna answer it?" You just stared at the phone. "Y/n!" She grabbed your phone and handed it to you. You took a deep breath and answered.

"H-- hello?"

"Y/n?"

"Steve? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Are you? Bucky told me you were pretty worried. He practically shoved my phone in my face as soon as we were back." Sweetheart? You couldn't help but smile a little at the name.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. I was worried. You got arrested?" You heard Steve sigh.

"Yeah, it's nothing though, Tony paid the fine, I was out of there in no time." What did he mean nothing? He was literally behind bars for a few hours because of you. Because he had protected you.

"Steve, why didn't you want me to go with Bucky to go get you?"

"That's-- a little harder to explain... It's really not a conversation I wanna have over the phone."

"Oh... okay..."

"You could come over though, if-- if you want."

"Yeah... Yeah! That sounds great..." 

"Great, do you want me to send a car?"

"Send a car?"

"Right-- yeah um, Tony's still here. I can have him send for someone to pick you up."

"Oh, uh-- yeah, sure."

"Okay, just text me the address. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay." The call ended.

"What happened? All good?" Avery looked concerned.

"Yeah, I think. He said he's fine, just has something he wanted to tell me, and that he couldn't do it over the phone." You sent Steve the address and looked down at the clothes you were wearing. They didn't look bad per se, but you wanted to freshen up a bit. "Hey, can I borrow some clothes?"

"Of course." Avery started walking to her room and you followed behind. "Wanna take a cab? I could go with you if you want so you're not by yourself."

"Steve said he's sending a car. And-- thanks, but I should be fine." Steve had done more than enough to prove himself to you. He had gained some of your trust on the first night you met, but now you trusted him more than ever. He was more than a stranger-- he really had become a friend. Avery picked out a decent outfit for you, it was just a basic shirt and skinny jeans, but definitely looked better than what you were wearing before. You got dressed and brushed your teeth (thank God Avery always has extra everything, including toothbrushes) then went back into the living room. Right as you walked in, you felt your phone buzz.

**Steve: Car's out front.**

"Guess it took me longer than I thought to get ready..." You walked back to Avery's room, where she was laying on her bed watching netflix, and poked your head through the doorway. "Hey, the car's here, I'm gonna go."

"How does he even afford being able to send a driver?"

"He has... a friend," you responded vaguely.

"Pfft, yeah who-- Tony Stark?" You gave her a smile and shrugged. "Wait-- no way!" You chuckled.

"I've gotta go, I'll be back later." You walked out of her room before she could freak out any more about Stark. You were freaking out a bit yourself, but you were too focused on Steve to even care. You went down the stairs and outside, where there was a black Cadillac SUV waiting. The driver rolled down the passenger side window, closest to the sidewalk, and leaned toward you.

"Y/n?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Mr. Stark is expecting you."

"Right..." You opened the back seat door and climbed in.

"It's not too far, we should be there in less than 10 minutes."

"Oh-- okay, thank you." You stared out the window the whole time. Before you knew it, you were pulling up to Steve's building. It was fairly easy to spot, and hard to forget. The driver got out of the car and walked around to open the door for you. "Oh, thank you." You got out and he drove off. You walked inside and went straight for the elevator then remembered Steve had to put in a key for it to work. You walked over to the desk hoping the man working there could help you. "Excuse me? I'm here to see Steve Rogers. Um, Tony Stark knows I'm coming?"

"Oh, of course, here--" He took out a key card and walked you back to the elevator, then inserted it, pushed Steve's floor number, and pulled it back out. The elevator dinged and he stepped back out.

"Thank you!" you managed to say before the doors shut. When they opened again, you walked straight to Steve's door, and raised your hand to knock, but hesitated. Your nerves were starting to get the best of you again. What does he want to talk about? What reason could he have for not wanting to just say it over the phone? But no-- whatever that reason was, you were there for Steve... You knocked on the door and Bucky opened it.

"Y/n," he greeted you with a smile. He opened the door wider for you to come inside. When you walked through the doorway, you saw Sam and Tony sitting with Steve in the living room-- their eyes all fixed on you. You said hi to Sam, and Tony stood up to introduce himself.

"So, you must be the famous y/n." He held his hand out and you shook it. You laughed a bit nervously.

"Wow, here I thought you were the famous one..."

"Funny," Tony smiled. "That's funny, I like this one," he said turning to Steve. You followed his gaze to see Steve already looking at you.

"Hi," he said quietly, but with a soft smile.

"Steve-- I'm so sorry," you started, but he cut you off.

"Don't, y/n. I told you, it was nothing."

"You keep saying that, but it happened because you were defending me!"

"And I'd do it again. As many times as it takes Beck to leave you alone. The way he grabbed you is no way to treat a lady. I was raised better than that, so I made my decision, and I dealt with the consequences of it. But don't think for a second that I regret any of it..." You didn't know what to say. You were in awe at his kindness, and couldn't think of anyone else that would have done the same for you. You looked up at everyone else in the room, who still had their eyes on you.

"So-- what was it you wanted to tell me?" You dragged your eyes back to Steve, whose gaze moved from you to the floor. He sighed, then held your hand and stood up.

"Come with me," he said as he lightly tugged on your hand. You stood up and followed him through the hallway, into one of the bedrooms, which you assumed was his. He closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't want you to get the wrong idea earlier, when I said to not come see me. Then I realized you probably took it to mean that I didn't want to see you at all, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Bucky knows I normally don't like talking about this, that's why he told you to just wait for me to explain-- but then I just couldn't do it over the phone, it had to be in person."

"Steve-- it's okay." You sat down next to him. "You don't have to explain anything."

"I know... but I want to. Listen I know we don't know each other that well but after what happened, if we're gonna be anything more than strangers I feel like you have a right to know." You simply nodded.

"Is it about your ex?"

"Yeah... at least part of it." Is he getting back together with her? What if they never really broke up? Is that what he couldn't tell me over the phone? Why'd you have to make it so obvious that you like him... Steve's voice snapped you out of your own head. "Her name is Sharon... We dated about two years ago, for almost a year." He moved further back on the bed so that his back was against the wall. "Then, I guess she started getting-- I don't know, bored? She started staying out later, I'd hardly see her that often. She never told me where she was going. And don't get me wrong, I'm fine with her being independent and all it's just, she was gone all the time... Anyway, towards the end of it was one of the lowest points in my life. I already mentioned this but I didn't like the person I was becoming."

"Right, so you broke it off." You remembered him talking about Sharon on your way to the cafe the day before.

"Yeah but before that I, uh-- well, we were walking down the street together and this guy showed up. He started getting real friendly with her, even though she kept insisting that she didn't know him. I got frustrated so I told him to go away, y'know? Leave us alone. Then he tried to kiss her and-- I hit him. Sharon told me to walk away but... I just kept going. I could hear her yelling at me to stop but for some reason I just couldn't. All the pent up anger and frustration about our relationship came out that day. The guy ended up in the hospital with a broken nose and two cracked ribs. And I ended up with NYPD's finest... Luckily Tony was there to bail me out of that one too." Steve had been staring at the floor the whole time. After that, he took a second to look up at you-- but just for a second. " I don't know why she didn't break up with me then and there. Truth is, I think part of me was hoping she would. It wasn't until three weeks later that Bucky told me she was cheating and surprise surprise, it was with that same guy..."

"So you didn't want me there because you had been there before?"

He finally looked at you again. "I was just reliving what happened with Sharon and..."

"And you were afraid that you were becoming that guy again..."

"Yeah," he whispered. You sat closer and placed a hand on his arm.

"You made a mistake, Steve. The fact that you're so scared of doing it again already proves that you're better than you were back then. Besides, you were fighting for someone you love. Give yourself some credit." You waited for him to say something, anything. But he stayed silent. You turned your body to face him. "You might not trust yourself, but I do. As crazy as that may seem..." You pointed to the door. "And so does every one out there, or else they wouldn't be here..." Steve turned his face toward you and gave a weak smile. His eyes met yours, and then started moving down your face. You did the same, and your eyes once again found themselves landing at his lips. You looked back up and started inching closer. Just then his phone buzzed and he quickly stood up. He pulled it out of his pocket to check his message.

"Tony's leaving, I-- I should go say bye." And with that, he left the room. What just happened? Were you about to-- He popped his head back through the doorway "You comin'?"

"Right-- yeah." You stood up and followed him back into the living room. He walked up to his friend and thanked him again, then gave him a quick hug.

"Bye, Tony." Steve gave him a pat on his arm, and Tony shifted his attention to you. You walked up to him and shook his hand.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Stark."

"Oh-- please, call me Tony." He smirked at you, but then it turned into a genuine smile.

"Right, Tony." You smiled back. He turned and said his goodbyes to Sam and Bucky. When he left, you looked back at Steve, who averted his eyes from you. You took it as a hint. "I-- I should get going too. My friend is waiting for me back at her apartment." Steve forced a smile and looked at you.

"See you later, y/n." You expected him to say more, but that was it. Bucky stepped forward a bit.

"Uh-- I'll get you a cab."

"Oh, thanks." You turned to say goodbye to Sam, then walked out with Bucky. He started talking as soon as the elevator doors closed.

"So, he told you about-- you know."

"Yeah," you nodded.

"He hasn't talked about that in months," Bucky sighed. He noticed how worried you still seemed and tried to offer some more insight. "Steve-- he has this whole pride thing. He doesn't like being vulnerable around people, but he also doesn't like being too strong, y'know? Even though physically, he could probably take on any jerk who walked up to him, he'd rather lose that fight than have someone he cares about be afraid of him... Y/n," he waited for you to look up at him. "He cares about you. Trust me, I haven't seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you, not even Sharon." You smiled a bit, then it faded. Then why didn't he want to kiss me? The doors opened up again in the lobby. You and Bucky walked outside and he hailed a cab for you, and handed the driver some cash. "That should be enough." He opened the door for you and you got inside. You told the driver the address, and took one last look back at Bucky before he drove off. He waved goodbye, and you saw his shoulders sink down a bit.

On the drive back to Avery's apartment, you thought about your conversation with Steve, and him pulling away from you. Part of you realized you should probably stay away, but you also knew you wanted to see him again. Maybe not so soon, because you needed time to process the past few days, but for some reason, you just knew you wouldn't be able to stay away..


	4. Time for a Change

“Okay, what about being an assistant?” Avery suggested.

“Mm, I don’t know-- don’t I need some sort of experience for that?”

“Nope.” Natasha stood up with her laptop and sat down beside you. She had learned about what happened with Beck, and your impromptu trip to the city. She originally came over to comfort you, but it turned into the both of them helping you find a job. You’d known her since college. Even back then, you had no clue what you wanted to do-- so you got a basic business degree, and never really did anything with it. For the longest time, you parents helped pay for everything, but just as you had suspected, they were so disappointed to hear about you and Beck, that they said it was time for you to pay for your own stuff. They basically cut you off and played it as just telling you to grow up. “I think I found something. It’s an assistant position, like Avery said, but-- oh. Never mind…”

“No, what is it?” You scooted closer to look at her computer screen, but couldn’t really make sense of whatever job site she was looking at. You’d never really applied for a ‘real’ job, so you looked at her and waited for her to answer.

“It’s in the city. So unless you want almost a two hour commute, I guess that one’s out the window.” She was about to click out of the page, but you put a hand on top of hers to stop her.

“Well, wait--”

“What, you really want a two hour drive to and from work  _ every _ day?”

“No… but I mean, I’ve lived in Rock Hill since I was born… What if it’s time for a change?” You looked back and forth between your two friends.

“Really? Seems like a pretty big leap.” Natasha looked skeptical.

“Yeah, I mean. If my parents want me to ‘grow up already’, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. Might as well jump in the deep end, right? Not to mention it’d probably mean never having to see you-know-who again.” You chuckled, then Avery did too, but for a different reason.

“Wait a minute, wait, this wouldn’t have anything to do with your new  _ friend _ , now would it?”

“New friend? Gasp, I thought we were all you needed, y/n.” Nat brought a hand up to her chest. “Well, who is it?”

“No one.” You just smiled, but she didn’t buy it.

“Oh no no, y/l/n. Come, on,” She turned to fully face you and crossed her legs. “Spill.”

“Nat really, it-- it’s a long story.” You were still smiling. You didn’t quite know why, but you couldn’t help it.

“We’ve got time…” She rested her head on her hands. You looked to Avery for help, but she just chuckled.

“What? You want me to tell it?” she said jokingly.

“Definitely not.” You looked back at Natasha, who seemed  _ very _ attentive. “Fine.” You caved and mirrored her position, turning to face her. “My first night in the city, my phone died, and-- you know I’ve only been like once or twice before. Basically I had no idea where to go, and had barely any money. This guy, Steve, walked me to a shop for a charger, but it was closed and there weren’t any affordable hotels so--”

“So she went back to  _ his _ place!” Avery interrupted. You shot daggers at her. “Oh-- sorry,” she chuckled nervously.

“Anyway…” you continued. “Yeah, I went back to his place. He seemed really nice-- which he  _ is _ . I met his roommates and it basically took off from there.” You looked back at Avery, who now had her hand raised. “Yes?” She lowered her hand.

“Can I add something?”

“Uh-- sure?”

“This guy gets soo many bonus points.” She was talking directly to Natasha. “Get this, Steve took y/n for some coffee before I met up with them, and  _ Beck _ showed up!”

“No!” Nat was almost literally on the edge of her seat.

“Yes! He tried to grab y/n, so Steve  _ punched _ him! It was like the hottest thing ever…” Avery looked at you just in time to see your jaw drop. You knew she approved of Steve, and although you both thought it, she’d never talked about him like that-- and neither had you. “What? It was!”

You laughed, then circled back to your original conversation. “Anyway, no, I’m not moving just for Steve. Seriously guys, I think this would be nice. I know my parents did it out of spite, but they kinda have a point. I’ve gotta get out there, y’know?” 

“You think you can afford a place with just an assistant job?”

You hadn’t thought about that. “Hm… I guess I’ll apply and see if I get the job first. Then figure out the rest.” 

“I’ll put in your application for you, all you have to do is wait for them to confirm that you got an interview. When I hear back from them I’ll send you all the details-- address, job description, and the name of who you’ll be interviewing with, so you’ll be all set.”

“You mean  _ if _ I get an interview,” you corrected.

“No, I mean when. No way they’d pass you up.” She smiled at you and opened an application in a new tab. The three of you sat in a circle as Nat asked you the questions and typed your answers for you. After finishing that, she submitted it and you got to researching cheap places in the city. The rest of the night was really just you comparing prices and trying to calculate how much you’d have to make to be able to afford it. By the end, Avery said you could just stay with her until you got your bearings.

You all said your goodbyes and you got ready for bed. Before you went to sleep, you got a text from Nat.

**Nat: What did I say? You’re in!**

**You’d be the assistant for a senior VP at Stark Industries. Probably just doing stuff like filing paperwork, helping her manage her appointments, and getting coffee. Her name’s Pepper Potts, and she’s giving the interview directly. Be at the Stark Tower in the city Monday morning at 12pm.**

**You got this!**

You did a double take and had to reread the message.  _ Stark Industries? As in, basically working for Tony? Well that shouldn’t be weird at all…  _ Only problem is that you only had one full day to prepare. You put your phone on your nightstand and decided to deal with it in the morning.

* * *

You woke up to the sound of your phone ringing next to you. You grabbed it, read the name on the screen, and answered. “Hello?” you said tiredly. You heard Avery’s all too energetic morning voice on the other line.

“Y/n! Nat told me you got the interview! At  _ Stark _ Industries? That’s so cool! If he’s friends with Steve, you’re almost sure to get the job!” 

“What do you mean?” You sat up in your bed.

“Steve! He could totally put in a good word for you! You  _ have _ to call him now. It’s been over a week since you last talked to him-- you’ve put it off long enough.”  _ A week? _ She was right. You hadn’t realized how long it had been, but apparently she’d been keeping track…

“The phone works both ways, Avery. He could call too if he wanted to.” You hadn’t told your friend about the night you and Steve almost kissed. That is-- before he pulled away. You felt like a fool. Everyone kept telling you that Steve liked you, and you had bought into it. He probably just wants to be friends, but he’s too nice to straight up reject you.

“Well maybe he’s waiting for you to make the first move.”

“I don’t know, Avery--”

“If you won’t call to ask him out, at  _ least _ call him as a friend. He knows Tony, right? So chances are, he probably knows the lady interviewing you. He could coach you in what to say and how to present yourself and all that.” You were almost certain she just wanted you to call him, but she had a point. It might be really helpful to know what Pepper would look for in an assistant… 

“Fine,” you gave in.

“Yay! Let me know how it goes. Oh-- and you should come stay the night tonight. That way you’re closer to the interview and have more time in the morning.” That was actually a really good idea.

“Sounds good, I’ll come by around-- let’s say 5-ish?”

“Awesome! See you then. And-- call him!”

“Mhm yeah okay, bye now.”

“Byee.”

Avery hung up and you and set your phone back down. You looked over at your clock.  _ Only 10:30? Surprised she’s even awake already… _ You groaned as you decided to get up and get dressed. You threw on a top and jeans, then went into the bathroom. You brushed your teeth, did your hair, and went back into your bedroom to grab your phone. You sat on the edge of your bed as you pulled up Steve’s contact.  _ Well… here it goes… _ You took a deep breath and hit the call button. It barely rang twice before you heard him pick up.

“Hello?” Suddenly you remembered it was still morning, and that you didn’t know if he got up early.

“Hey, Steve… I-- I didn’t wake, you did I?”

“No, no I’ve been up for a few hours. What’s up?”  _ He’s not even gonna mention how long it’s been? Alright, well that makes things easier. _

“I have a job interview tomorrow, I was wondering if maybe you could help coach me?”

“Uh, yeah of course but-- why me?”

“Oh right! Um, the interview is at… Stark Industries.”

“No kiddin’, really? That’s awesome, y/n! I could call Tony right now if you want, you could totally skip the interview, and--”

“No! Uh-- no, no thanks. I wanna get hired because I’m right for the job, not just because I know one of the boss’ friends.”

“Oh-- okay, yeah that makes sense. What’s the job?”

“Executive assistant, if I remember correctly.” You heard Steve chuckle. “What?”

“Well, tip number one-- know what you’re interviewing for. Anyway, assistant to who? Tony?”

“No, his VP; Pepper Potts. So I guess I wouldn’t be working  _ directly _ for Tony.”

“Still, Pepper’s great. You’ll love working for her.”

“I hope so. Do you have any tips? Anything specific I should wear, or say, or-- anything?” You really wanted to impress at this interview.

“Sure, there’s definitely some things she’d take note of but, can I call you back later?”

“Oh-- yeah sure.” 

“Sorry it’s just Sam’s been making me go on his morning runs with him. I have higher endurance so he uses me as motivation to push himself.”

“Yeah, no it’s fine, call me whenever you’re free.”

“Or-- I mean if you want we could meet up somewhere…” You thought about it before answering.  _ Was it gonna be awkward after last time? _ You were going to Avery’s again later anyway, you didn’t have a problem going into the city an hour or so early to see Steve… 

“Sure, I’ll be in the city around 4. Did you have a specific place in mind?” 

“Hmm… What about the cafe we went to last time?”

“Right, ‘best cup of coffee in New York’?” He let out a subtle laugh again. 

“Yep, that’s the one. The Coffee Club.”

“Great, I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“Can’t wait.” For whatever reason, the image of his smile popped into your head when he said that. 

“Okay, bye Steve.”

“Bye, y/n…”

You hung up this time. You walked to the living room and sat down on the couch with your laptop. You knew the basics about Tony and his company-- he’s a billionaire  _ genius _ , and Stark Industries makes its money through aeronautics, robotics, micro-tech and other science-y things you don’t really understand. But you figured you should try to gain as much knowledge before your interview, so you did what anyone would do… You googled him.  _ Is it weird to google someone when you know them in person? I mean, it’s not like we’re really friends or anything, I’ve only met him once…  _

“Okay internet… What should I know about him?” You clicked through dozens of articles and interviews. Tony seemed a lot more tolerable in private than he did with the world. If you hadn’t already met him, you weren’t sure you would  _ want _ to. 

You watched an interview where the reporter introduced him as “Billionaire Tony Stark,” and he corrected her by saying “actually honey, that’s genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” and giving a cocky smile. You wondered why he created this public persona, when in reality he  _ seemed _ like a pretty decent guy. Wouldn’t he want more people to like him? Before you knew it, a few hours had passed and you had to pack some clothes for the interview, and a night at Avery’s. After going through so many videos of Tony, you realized he never really dressed  _ too _ professionally. Sure, for parties he dressed in what looked like fairly expensive suits, but for every day work, it seemed pretty casual. So you decided to pack similar clothes. Once you were all set, you called Avery to let her know you’d be in the city soon.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I’m about to leave my house, just a little heads up.”

“I thought you were coming at five? It’s like 2:45.”

“Yeah I uh, I have a quick stop to make before that…”

“A quick-- oh! You called him didn’t you! I just assumed you’d talk over the phone but you’re seeing him again?” You could sense the excitement and eagerness in her voice.

“Yes, but it’s not like it’s a date or anything. He’s just giving me tips for the interview. Apparently he knows Pepper too, so I’m hoping he knows what she’d look for.”

“Mm, right… Whatever you say, y/n.”

“It’s not a date!” you insisted.

“Sure, sure. I’ll be home all day so just come on up to the apartment when you’re done with your  _ not _ date.” You sighed. She wasn’t gonna let that go anytime soon…

“Okay okay, I gotta go.” You hung up and grabbed the backpack with your clothes. You did one last scan to make sure you weren’t forgetting anything. You called a cab and took it to the nearest train station, then took the train to grand central.  _ Well this seems familiar… _ It was now 4:10. From there, you texted Steve and told him you were on your way to the cafe.  _ Probably should’ve done that earlier _ … 

**Steve: Perfect, I’ll see you there.**

You put your phone back and left the station, then hailed a cab and told the driver where to go. You knew you were close when you started to recognize the streets you had walked down with Steve. Soon after, you pulled up to the cafe, got out of the cab, and paid the driver. You took a breath before walking inside and looking around. Steve wasn’t there yet. _ I suppose I could just get some coffee while I wait. _ You were going to order, but realized you didn’t really know what to ask for. Jacob the barista wasn’t there either.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” The girl behind the register got ready to take your order.

“Um, I’m not sure.”

“Is this your first time here?”

“No, I came once before with a friend. The guy working that day just asked if he wanted his regular drink and I had the same thing.”

“Is your friend by any chance Steve Rogers?” She laughed a little.

“Yeah, you know him?”

“Not personally, but he comes  _ very _ often. You want the same drink?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks.”

“One Steve Special coming up,” she smiled and rang up your order. You took a seat at a table near the back and put your bag down. The barista brought out your drink.

“Thank you.” You took a sip, hoping it was the right drink.  _ Best cup of coffee in New York… _ You put your mug on the table and waited for Steve to arrive. A few minutes later, you heard a low rumble pull up to the cafe, then Steve walked in. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and sunglasses which he hung on his shirt.

“Hey, Steve!” The girl who served your drink greeted him.

“Hi Anna, no Jacob today?”

“Nah, he’s on a trip so I’m covering for him.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Anyway, want your usual?”

“You know me so well,” he chuckled. Then he saw you sitting at your table and walked over. You stood up to greet him as he got closer. “Hi,” you said as you gave him a friendly smile.

“Hi.” He smiled and went in for a hug. It took you by surprise but you hugged him back, then you both sat down. 

“So, how ya been?”

“Good, good. Just trying to get a hold on life,” you chuckled. 

“Yeah?”

“My parents kinda-- cut me off… Which sounds so juvenile now that I say it out loud.” You physically cringed, but Steve just laughed it off.

“No no, I get it. I mean if I’m being honest, Tony’s been a big help to me, y’know, financially.”

“Well that makes me feel a bit better. Anyway, I’m trying to get this job at Stark Industries as a kickstart.” Anna brought Steve’s drink and set it down in front of him.

“Thanks sweetheart,” he looked up at her and smiled. _Sweetheart…_ _I guess he talks like that to everyone._ “So, what can I help you with?”

“Well, I actually did some of my own research earlier,” you said, feeling somewhat proud of yourself. “Learned a bit more about Tony and the way he handles himself and the company. I even sorta packed similar clothes for my interview tomorrow.” Steve choked on his coffee and started coughing. “Woah, you okay? What happened?” He took a few sips from his drink to help.

“You packed clothes similar to  _ Tony’s _ ?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? I figured it’d help make a little connection or something.”

“That might’ve worked if you were interviewing  _ with _ Tony. But you said it’s with Pepper, right? And you don’t want her to know you have any connection to him?”

“Yeah…”

“See, Tony’s more sarcastic, sometimes arrogant. But  _ Pepper _ is much more sophisticated. You’d probably be a lot better off wearing a blazer or something.”

“Damn. I only packed certain clothes. I really don’t wanna pay for more cabs to go all around the city.” You sighed and rested your chin on your hand.

“Well-- what if I gave you a ride?”

“You have a car?” The thought never occurred to you, because you always just saw Steve walk or talk about taking a taxi. 

“Not exactly…” He turned to look out the window and you followed his gaze to a black motorcycle parked outside.

“That’s  _ yours _ ??” you asked, not taking your eyes off of the beautiful piece of machinery. Steve laughed.

“Yep. I only ride it on occasion. Don’t wanna risk getting any scratches on ‘er. But today it was nice enough outside. So whaddya say?”

“Do you have another helmet?” You weren’t necessarily scared, but safety first, y’know?

“Uh-- no. But you could use mine if you want.”

“Sure,” you smiled. “But first, are there any other things you can think of that might help me impress Pepper?”

“Well first off, be on time. Pepper’s a very busy woman. Truth be told, she practically runs the company. Being a few minutes early couldn’t hurt.”

“Be a little early, got it. Anything else?”

“She likes to be organized. Makes her job a lot easier. I don’t know if that really helps but I figured it was worth mentioning.” Steve shrugged and drank more of his coffee.

“I think I could work that into the conversation… Thank you so much.” You finished off your drink.

“So, you wanna get going?”

“Hm?”

“To go get you a better interview outfit. Here--” He got out his phone and pulled up several pictures of Pepper from the web. In every one, she was wearing either a top and pencil skirt or dress, and a blazer jacket. 

“Huh, okay, where should we go?”

“Well I’m no fashion expert, but I have an idea…” Steve paid for his drink, and you were about to do the same but he stopped you. “No, no, let me.” He put a few more dollars down on the table. “You’ve got some shopping to do anyway,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” you smiled back and followed him outside. He took the helmet off of his motorcycle and handed it to you.

“You sure about this?”

“Yeah… Should be fun,” you shrugged. You pulled the helmet over your head and Steve leaned down a bit to adjust the chin strap for you. For a second, his hand lingered near your chin and he looked up at your eyes.

“All set,” he said softly. He slowly lowered his hands and stood straight. He mounted the bike and moved the kickstand up with his shoe, then turned back to you. “Hop on.” You got on behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist, bringing yourself closer to him then you'd ever been.. “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you joked. Steve started the motorcycle and you heard the familiar rumble of the engine. He slowly eased out of the parking lot and merged with the oncoming traffic. You tightened your grip as he picked up speed, feeling the flex of his muscles with every turn. He stopped at a red light and slightly turned to you.

“Too fast?” he smirked.

“No, no, I’m good.” 

“Alright, we’re almost there just hang on.” The light turned green and you once again tore through the streets. When he came to a stop again, it was in a parking garage. Steve dismounted first and helped you get down. He carefully undid the helmet strap and slid it off your head. You felt strands of hair go up with it, and he tried to stifle a laugh. “Sorry,” he smirked as you tried to lay your hair flat. The two of you started walking out of the parking garage.

“Where exactly are we--” you cut yourself off as you looked up to see the giant department store sign.

“Best place I could think of. Decent clothes, affordable,” Steve looked up as well. “The famous 34th street Macy’s…”


	5. City Prince.

“What about this one?” You stepped out of the dressing room and showed Steve your outfit. He was sitting in a chair outside helping you decide on what to wear. Despite him claiming to not know much about fashion, he brought up some good points.

“Bright colors might draw too much attention. If you’re gonna be her assistant, your job is more to work behind the scenes, y’know?”

“Yeah, that makes sense… There’s one more I kinda liked. Be right back.” You smiled as you turned and went back into the dressing room to change. You had liked your previous outfit, but he was right about it being too distracting. That  _ last _ thing you wanted on the day of your interview was to have people talking about you… The next one was nice too though-- and it felt very ‘you’. It was slightly less professional than a skirt and blazer, but still looked like something someone working at a major company would wear. It was high waisted slim fit dress pants, a white top with a navy blazer over it, and brown, heeled, leather ankle boots. You stepped outside again. “What about this one?” Steve did a double take as he looked up.

“That-- yeah. Wow, you look great.  _ It _ looks great. The uh-- the outfit.” He brought a hand up to the back of his neck. You laughed a little, and could feel yourself slightly blushing.

“Thanks, so should I get this one?”

“Definitely.”

You got changed back into your regular clothes and put everything back, except for the outfit you picked. You walked up to checkout and paid for everything. Steve’s idea to come here was great. Anywhere else, the clothes probably would’ve cost around $300. But there they were much more affordable. The cashier put them in a bag for you and you were on your way. 

“Where are you headed now?” Steve led you back to the parking garage.

“My friend’s house, I’m staying with her tonight to have more time to get ready in the morning.”

“Smart plan,” he took out his keys. “Need a ride?”

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna impose.”

“Nonsense, I’d be happy to. Besides, I love riding around, doesn't really matter where. It’s almost therapeutic-- feeling the wind in my hair.”

“I don’t know about therapeutic,”  _ How can someone be so calm with such an adrenaline rush? _ “But it sure is fun…”

When you made it back to Steve’s motorcycle, he put his helmet back on you, tightened it, and got on the bike. Then he held your shopping bag as you got on, and when you wrapped your hands around him, he placed the bag between your hands and his abs. “So it doesn’t blow away,” he said, turning to face you.

“Smart, thanks.”

“You ready?” You nodded, feeling like a bobblehead with the weight of the helmet. He started the engine and took off toward Avery’s apartment.

He pulled up to her building and helped you off the bike again. You took off his helmet and handed it to him. “Thanks again.”

“Oh yeah, no problem. Let me know how tomorrow goes-- we’ll go celebrate your new job.” He leaned against the bike and smiled.

“That’s nice, but I don’t wanna get too far ahead of myself. Oh-- and remember, please don’t tell Tony about it. At least not until I know whether or not I got it.”

“You have my word,” Steve nodded. He mounted his motorcycle and put his helmet on.

“Thank you… Bye, Steve,” you waved as he started and revved the engine. 

“Oh and-- just be yourself… I’m sure they’ll love you.” He gave you one last smirk and drove off. You walked up to Avery’s apartment and knocked on the door.

“Hey! I was about to text you. How’d it go with Stranger Danger?” She let you inside and you turned to give her a displeasing look. “What, don’t like it? Okay what about Cafe Hottie? Ocean Eyes--? Your City Prince!”

“Avery!” You laughed as you walked to her guest bedroom and set your bags down. Avery made dinner, so you ate, then got ready for bed. It was around 7:00 by that time, but you had a feeling rest wasn’t gonna come very easy with such a big day ahead, so you went to bed early to get as much sleep as possible.

* * *

(Steve’s POV)

Steve walked in his apartment and tossed his keys on the counter. 

“Hey man, where you been?” Sam was sitting on the couch watching tv.

“Oh-- just, out.” Steve took off his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair in the kitchen. Bucky came out of his room and joined them.

“What took you so long?” He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“I was just giving y/n some help with her interview tomorrow.” Steve shrugged.

“And that took two hours?”

“Well-- she needed better clothes for it, so I gave her a ride to the department store then dropped her off at her friend’s house.” Bucky snickered as he took a drink of his water. “What?” Steve asked innocently. Sam stood up and walked over. 

“Man when are you gonna ask her out already?”

Steve sighed. “I don’t know, I’m just not ready for that yet.” After Sharon, he was terrified to date again. More specifically, he was terrified of scaring you off.

“Oh not this again.” Bucky walked back to sit in the living room but stopped to turn back at Steve.

“Buck, you know I--”

“No, Steve! Just--  _ dammit _ .”

“What, why are you getting so--”

“Because Steve! You met this  _ beautiful _ girl who clearly likes you, otherwise she wouldn’t keep coming back-- and you’re wasting it!”

Steve looked from Bucky to the floor and smiled, thinking of you. “She is beautiful, huh.”

“Man’s got a point, Steve.” Sam walked over to join Bucky. “She  _ is _ pretty.”

“Pretty?” Bucky plopped down on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “She-- she’s  _ gorgeous _ . She deserves so much better than that asshole she dated before…”

“Woah Bucky, sounds like  _ you’re  _ the one crushing on her.,” Steve joked. Bucky just stared straight ahead, avoiding looking at his friend. Steve’s smile faded a bit. “Buck?” Bucky looked up at him with confliction in his eyes.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” he said softly.

“Wait you-- you  _ do _ like her?”

Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise, then slowly backed away towards the door. “This… this sounds like you two need to talk, I’ll-- I’ll be back later.” He grabbed a jacket and left the apartment.

“Buck?” Steve said again.

“Yeah… Yeah I like her.” Bucky sighed. Steve didn’t really know what to say. “She came over that first night and I just figured I’d get over it, y’know? I didn’t really expect to ever see her again. But then she called your phone and, hearing her voice again just--” he shrugged. “I was never gonna tell you because-- well there was no point. I was never gonna act on it anyway.”

Steve stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking up again. “You should go for it.” Bucky’s eyes shot up.

“What?”

“You should go for it,” Steve repeated. He sat down next to Bucky. “You’re right, she deserves better. She deserves someone who has her full attention. Someone who doesn’t have to constantly worry about their own sob story and-- that’s just not me. I  _ wish _ it was but… I’m just not there yet.” He put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “If I can’t be there for her, you should be. It’s not fair of me to make you hold back your feelings if I’m not gonna act on mine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Steve said hesitantly. He knew he wouldn’t be able to ask you out. He was too afraid of hurting you. But if anyone was gonna do it, Bucky was the one he trusted the most.

Bucky slowly nodded. “Okay… And I mean, I still don’t know if she’d even go for it.”

Steve chuckled. “Please, when we were younger you’d have girls  _ swarming _ you.”

“That was different. And such a long time ago. I don’t even know how I’d go about doing it…”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He gave Bucky a pat on the back and retreated to his room.

* * *

(Y/n’s POV)

You walked up the stairs back to Avery’s apartment after your interview. You walked in and she was eagerly waiting for you in the living room.

“Soo?” She stood up and rushed over to you. “How’d it go?”

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know. Part of it went well, but a lot of my answers to her questions were really short. I felt like she was expecting more.” You tossed your key and phone on the counter, then walked to the couch and sat down. You had gotten up pretty early to make sure you wouldn’t be late.

“Y/n you worry too much. I’m sure you did fine.” She walked over and sat down beside you. You leaned your head back and closed your eyes. “So, now what do you wanna do? Junk food and trashy tv?”

You picked your head back up and laughed. “Honestly I might fall asleep.” Avery laughed too.

“That’s fine too. Any word on when they’re gonna let you know if you got it or not?”

“She said any time this week so I’m assuming it might be a few days.” 

“Alright-- oh by the way, wanna keep looking for apartments?”

You groaned. She was right. Whether or not you got the job, you decided that you wanted to move out, and you needed a plan. “Yeah, I probably should. Thanks for all the help by the way, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, any time. I’ll be right back.” She stood up and went to her room, then came back with her laptop. “Okay,” she opened her computer and sat back down with you. “Let’s see…” You scooted over to see the places she was looking at. “Okay so there’s a few in Queens--”

“Eh, I’ll pass. Queens isn’t really me. Plus if I  _ do _ get the job, it’d be kinda far. Something closer to Manhattan would be better.”

“I think that probably narrows it down a bit.” She set a perimeter and you watched the number of listings go down. “Okay,” Avery chuckled. “That narrows it down a  _ lot _ .”

About an hour passed and you started getting frustrated. “Ugh! I’m never gonna find a decent place in the city.” You threw your head back against the couch. Avery closed her laptop and put an arm around you.

“Oh sure you will. And hey-- I already told you, you can stay here as long as you need until you find somewhere.”

“I know, but it seems like it’s gonna be impossible. Besides, I don’t wanna bug you for  _ too _ long.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She got up and walked to get a glass of water. You heard your phone ring from the kitchen and turned around. 

“Can you get that for me? Who is it?”

“Sure.” She picked it up. “It’s just an unknown number.”

“Oh, then you can just let it ring.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I don’t care.”

“Hm,” she gave you a smirk then answered it anyway. “Helloo? … No uh-- who’s this? … Oh! Oh yeah, sure. She’s right here!” She covered the microphone and walked over to you. “It’s that girl from Stark Industries!”

“Already? I thought it’d be a couple days.” You quickly sat up and took the phone from her. She just shrugged, and you answered. “Um-- hello?”

“Hi! Miss y/l/n? This is Pepper Potts calling.”

“Oh, hi! I--is something wrong? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”

“No, not at all. I’m calling with some good news-- you got the job!”

“Wow, really?” You thought the interview had gone okay, but didn’t think you’d get hired so quick. “That’s great! When should I start?”

“Well I know this came quite suddenly, so you can have a few days if you’d like. How about Thursday?”

“Yeah, that sounds great! Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, I look forward to working with you.”

“You too, thanks again. Bye!” You hung up and looked at Avery, who was waiting for you to explain. “I-- I got the job…”

“That’s great! I’m proud of you.” She gave you a hug. When you pulled away, you had a smirk on your face. “What?” 

“I guess I’m finally growing up, huh?” You both laughed, then you remembered something. “Oh-- I gotta call Steve. I told him I’d let him know how the interview went.”

“Right-- were his tips helpful at all?”

“Definitely.” You called and heard it ring. “I told her that I was really organized with scheduling and could work around any conflicts, and I think it really peaked her interest.” You heard Steve pick up.”Hey!”

“Hey, y/n. How’d the interview go? Feel good about it?”

“That’s actually what I was calling you about-- I got the job!”

“That’s great! See? I told you they’d love you…”

“Yeah well I guess I sort of have you to thank for that.” You had used every bit of insight he gave you. Not to mention the clothes he helped you pick were  _ much _ better than what you had packed. You fit right in with everyone else there.

“No, come on, you should take all the credit. None of my advice would’ve worked if you weren’t right for the job.”

“Well still, thank you.”

“Anytime… So, where do you wanna go?”

“What do you mean?”

“To celebrate! I told you I’d take you out someplace as soon as you got the news, didn’t I?” He  _ had _ said that, but you didn’t think he was serious. You figured he’d just congratulate you over the phone or something.

“Oh-- Steve you don’t have to--”

“I know, but I want to. C’mon, it’ll be fun. I’ll bring Bucky and Sam, and you can bring Avery. I mean, what are friends for, right?”  _ Friends… right. _ You brushed it off and gave in.

“Okay, how about you pick? I still don’t know much about the city, remember?”

“Right, right. Okay. I’ll text you the place and we’ll all meet there at, say 8 o’clock?”  _ 5 hours away... _

“Okay,” you smiled at yourself. “I’ll see you then.”

“Alright, see you.”

“Bye.”

“See him later, huh?” Avery smirked and raised her eyebrows.

“Yep. And you’re coming with.”

“Third wheeling? No thanks.”

“No-- for the last time it’s not a date… He’s bringing his friends too, Sam and Bucky.”

“Ugh, fine. That’s definitely not a date.” She walked back to the kitchen. You started wondering about how the night would go.  _ What do I wear? Avery’s right, it’s not a date. _

“Hey um-- Avery?”

“What’s up?”

“Can I borrow some clothes for later?”

“Sure, let’s see…”

* * *

“Y/n are you ready?” Avery called from the living room. “We should head out soon!”

You looked at the clothes she gave you.  _ Perfect _ . Not too flirty, but still looked good. It was a pair of black skinny jeans, boots, a navy blue top and leather jacket. You fixed your hair a bit then walked out with Avery. “Ready.” You smiled. You heard a knock at the door and turned to your friend. “Are you expecting someone?”

She smiled. “Surpriiise…” She opened the door and Natasha walked in. “I hope you don’t mind. You said Steve was bringing his friends and I thought it would be fun.”

“Plus, I wanna finally meet this new friend of yours.” Nat came in and gave you a hug.

“Yes,  _ friend _ . He’s just a friend.” You tried to make it clear to the both of them.

“Oh okay fine. For  _ now _ . But we all know you wish it was more…” Nat leaned against the doorway.

“I-- I don’t know. Maybe, but he doesn’t seem all that interested in being anything more.”

“Fair enough.” Avery grabbed her keys. “We all ready?”

“Yeah.” You pulled your phone out and checked the address Steve sent you. The three of you walked down to the street and got a cab. The driver dropped you off at a bar called The NoMad. You had looked it up on your way there and it seemed pretty high-end. “Guess this is it.” You looked up at the sign, then paid and thanked the driver. You walked in and saw Steve, Sam, and Bucky sitting at the bar. “There they are,” you said as you pointed them out.

“Oh my-- they’re  _ all _ so gorgeous,” Nat said.

“Oo! I thought of another one-- your golden boy! Get it? Because of his hair?” Avery joked.

“Wait--” Nat turned to you. “Steve is the blonde one?”

“Yeah, why?” You looked back at Steve.

“I don’t know, I guess I assumed he was the one with the soft looking brown hair.”

“Bucky? I-- huh… I never really thought about him like that but yeah you’re right. He is pretty cute…” 

“Oo, I guess there’s more than just one City Prince,” Avery teased. Just then, Steve turned around and saw you.

“Hey, y/n!” He waved you over. You walked to the bar and introduced everyone to your friends.

“Hey, Steve. Sam, Bucky,” You nodded to them. You got a weird feeling when you looked at Bucky-- similar to when you first saw Steve at the train station… “Uh-- these are my friends, Avery and Natasha.” They all shook hands and said hello.

“You can call me Nat.”

“Nice to meet you guys.” Sam leaned against the bar as he took a sip from his drink.

“You wanna sit down? We can get a table,” Steve suggested.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” You followed Steve to a table and sat down across from him, between Nat and Bucky.

“Can I get you ladies some drinks?” Sam said before he sat. The three of you said sure and he went back to the bar for a bit before walking back with three rum and cokes-- simple enough. He set them on the table and sat down.

“So, for the sake of conversation,” Steve faked a cough. “Y/n… what do you do for a living?” He smiled, and you chuckled at his failed attempt to casually bring up your new job. You went along with it.

“Well, I’m glad you asked, Steve. I am  _ actually _ an executive assistant to the co-CEO of a little company called Stark Industries.” You sipped on your drink.

Throughout the rest of the night, you and Steve both made jokes with each other, but then he always made a comment pushing you back to thinking you were just friends. Sam made some conversation and you learned a bit more about him. For starters, the man loves dad jokes, except his were genuinely funny. He also loves making fun of Bucky, and Bucky likes teasing him in return. Bucky started telling stories about when he and Steve were younger that had everyone laughing.

“Believe it or not, he used to be  _ tiny _ .” Bucky motioned toward Steve.

“No way.” You laughed.

“Oh yeah. Had to bail him out of a few beatings every now and then. Even though he never won, he never backed down from a bully…”

“No-- hey, it was  _ not _ as bad as you make it sound,” Steve chimed in.

“Oh absolutely it was!” Bucky laughed. “Sorry pal, but you couldn’t go a  _ week _ without getting your ass handed to you.”

You laughed then turned to Steve. “How did you get so-- y’know.”

“Well… in high school I finally had enough, so I started working out more. That mixed with the puberty I guess and… here I am,” he shrugged.

After a while, you had all finished your first round of drinks. Bucky noticed you still trying to sip on whatever was left, but it was all ice at that point. He put an arm on the back of your chair and leaned over so only you could hear.

“Can I buy you a refill, doll?”

You turned to him and felt yourself blush a little. “Doll? Again?” You giggled.

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s cool… I like it.”

“So-- refill?”

You nodded. “That’d be great, thanks.”

He grabbed your empty cup and walked over to the bar. You looked at Steve and saw his gaze was following his friend, then it returned to the table. Bucky walked back and handed you your drink back.

“There ya go, doll.” He sat down. “What’d I miss?”

“Sam was just starting to tell us an  _ interesting _ story about you,” Nat answered. Bucky’s smile fell and he looked around, a bit skeptical.

“Uh oh… What story?” 

“Does Coney Island ring a bell..?” Sam smirked, and Bucky brought a hand to his face.

“Punk made me ride the Cyclone, and I threw up-- but then  _ he _ completely  _ refused _ to go on the Thunderbolt when Sam tried to make him.” Steve brought a hand up to his chest as he laughed.

“Look man, Thunderbolt is like 30 feet taller than the Cyclone-- it’s the tallest thing there!” Bucky tried to defend himself. “I’ve been riding the Cyclone since I was a kid. Thunderbolt was never even an option.”

“Anyway,” Sam continued. “I offered him twenty bucks and he  _ still _ didn’t go for it, so I had to ride alone! But wait-- there’s more.” He looked at Steve. “After that, we went on a few of the slower rides… As in, the ones meant for kids…”

“And he threw up after  _ that _ !” Steve finished Sam’s story.

“It was the hotdogs! They had gone bad or something.” Bucky knocked over his cup and spilled ice all over the table. “Shit--”

“Here.” You gave him your napkins.

“Thanks,” he finished cleaning up. “Anyway, I blame the hotdogs…”

“Man, we ate the same food!” Sam said before he started laughing again. Bucky groaned and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.

“I hate to be a party pooper, but I should probably be on my way. I’ve got a bit of a drive to get back upstate,” Nat said as she stood up. You checked your watch.

“Oh damn, it’s later than I thought.”

“Do you need to get going too?” Steve asked. “I totally forgot, when do you start your job?”

“Oh that’s not for two more days but, I don’t wanna spend all day in bed tomorrow, y’know?”

“Of course,” he smiled and stood up to say goodbye. “I hope you had a good time-- and congrats again.” He gave you a hug.

“Thanks. Goodnight, Steve,” you smiled.

“See you around, y/n,” Sam said. You waved back, then Bucky stood up beside you.

“Here, I’ll walk you out.” He extended his arm for you to lead the way. Once you got outside, Avery called a cab. “Uh-- y/n, can I ask you something?” He nudged his head away from Avery. You walked a few feet over and he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. “So, I’ve been meaning to tell you… See the thing is… Well--”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah yeah, just--” He sighed. “Ever since the first night when Steve brought you to the apartment, I uh-- I wanted to ask you out… But I never really thought I’d see you again, then it took me a while to build up the courage and-- well here we are.” He chuckled nervously. “Y/n, can I take you out on a date sometime?”

“Oh… Bucky, I don’t know--”

“You don’t have to answer right now just-- think about it… Uh-- may I?” He pointed to your phone. You unlocked it and handed it to him. He made a new contact and put in his number. “Give me a call later, let me know what you decide. And no pressure, doll. Whatever you choose, we’ll be good.” He handed your phone back and said goodnight, then waved to Avery as he walked back inside. “It was good to meet you.”

Avery smiled back at him, then the cab pulled up. You both got in and she practically started interrogating you. “What was  _ that _ ? What did he say?”

“Well… he kind of-- asked me out.”

“What? What did  _ you _ say?”

“I said I didn’t know, that I had to think about it.”

“Well what are you gonna tell him?”

“I don’t know, Avery! That’s why I said I have to think about it-- look I’d rather not talk about it right now. It’s just a lot to take in.”

“That’s alright, let’s just go home, yeah?”

The rest of the ride was quiet. Neither you or Avery said much, but you knew you were both thinking the same thing. Only problem was you had no idea what you were gonna decide. You thought about it all the way home. When you got there, you told Avery you were going to bed.

“Wait-- not to bother or anything but-- what are you thinking about? C’mon, let it all out before you go to sleep.”

You sighed. “Well, I really like Steve. But so far he’s only shown interest once, and then took it back…”

“Wait what are you talking about?”

“I didn’t tell you but-- we almost kissed.”

“You what?! Why didn’t you tell me??” She started to freak out, just like you thought she would.

“One, I knew you’d react like  _ that _ . And two, because we didn’t actually kiss. He pulled back and then acted like nothing happened. I know his last relationship ended badly but I didn’t realize how much it had affected him.”

“Maybe he’s just-- waiting.”

“I know, I know. He’s probably not ready but-- I  _ am _ … And apparently so is Bucky…”

“So-- what does that mean?”

“I-- I think I know what I’m gonna do.” You pulled out your phone and went to Bucky’s contact. You called him and waited anxiously as it rang. It seemed like ages before he finally picked up.

“Hello?”

“Bucky?” You didn’t hear the noise of the bar in the background, so you assumed he was back at home already too.

“Hey! Y/n… So, did you think about my offer?” He seemed hesitant to ask.

“I did…”

“And?” He asked quietly. You paused before answering, then made up your mind for sure. 

“I’m in…”


	6. Chapter Six: This way, Romeo

You knocked on the office door with one hand, holding a cup of coffee in the other. “Miss Potts?”

“Come in!” you heard from the other side. You opened the door and saw Pepper sitting at her desk with papers scattered across the surface. “Y/n, we’ve talked about this,” she smiled. “Just Pepper’s fine.”

“Right,” you smiled back. “My bad… I uh-- finished scheduling those meetings for you, and thought you might want some coffee.” You handed her the cup. “I didn’t know how you take it so I just sorta guessed.”

She took a sip and raised her eyebrows. “Wow, good guess,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks,” you chuckled then started to retreat from her office. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh wait!” She set the cup down and motioned to the paperwork on her desk. “I’m really swamped here, is there any way you could stay late today and help organize all these new projects?”

“Oh uh--” You thought about it. Tonight was supposed to be your date with Bucky. He had scheduled it a few days after you called, and you figured he probably planned something great, but you had just started working here and you didn’t want to disappoint so early on. This job was important to you, and it’d be crucial if you wanted to finally start to live independently. SUrely Bucky would understand that, right? “Sure,” you finally answered. “I’ve just got to um-- move some things around… How late exactly?”

“8 or 9-ish? I promise this isn’t a regular thing, I just got so backtracked after my last assistant left.”

“No worries,” you smiled. “It’s what I’m here for, right?” You walked out, making sure to close the door behind you. When you turned back around, you walked straight into someone as they were headed to Pepper’s office. “Oh-- I’m so sorry, I--” You looked up to see the man you walked into and much to your surprise, and misfortune, it was the man himself-- the one and only, Tony Stark.

“Y/n? What are you doing here?” He tilted his head a bit.

“Oh well I-- um…” You thought about lying. It had only been a few days and you still didn’t want any special treatment, but he’d figure it out soon enough anyway. “I work here.”

He looked back and forth between you and Pepper’s door. “Wait, are-- are  _ you _ Pepper’s new assistant?” He kept going without giving you a chance to answer. “Y/n if you wanted a job you should’ve just told me, I could’ve given you something better-- how does a promotion sound?” He leaned against the door and crossed his arms.

You sighed. A promotion sounded great, but you didn’t want it like that. “Um… Thank you, really, but-- I’m good.” You gave a polite smile.

“You’re  _ good _ ? How are you good?”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t accept a promotion I didn’t earn, y’know? It doesn’t seem fair.” You wanted to move up in the world, but you wanted to do it the right way. As awful as your parents are now, they raised you to be honest. “I’d love to  _ earn _ a promotion, but that really seems like it’s up to Pepper considering she’s technically my boss.” You said the last part a bit quieter. Tony’s eyes narrowed a bit at it, like he didn’t like being told that he wasn’t in charge.

“You turning me down? Better think about this.”

“Trust me, I have.”

Tony slowly nodded before standing straight again. “Well, if it helps, there’s a bakery a few blocks north-- Pepper  _ loves _ their banana nut muffins. I always forget to stop by on my way here but, maybe your memory will serve you better than me. I’m sure she’d really appreciate it.” He winked at you before opening the door and disappearing into Pepper’s office. You turned around and went to your desk. You had some papers to organize for a fundraiser coming up, but you had to make a call first.

You pulled your phone out and took a deep breath before calling.

“Hello?” You heard the voice on the other line and suddenly got more nervous. “y/n?”

“Hey, Bucky.”

“What’s goin’ on doll? Excited for our date later?”

“Well– actually that’s what I was calling you about. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to make it.”

“Oh,” you heard the tone in his voice change and felt terrible. “Well– it’s alright, I mean if you’re not ready for that yet we can–”

“No!” you cut him off. “No it’s not that, I swear. I was really looking forward to it, I’m just stuck at work until late. I know we were scheduled for today but I just really don’t wanna mess things up here… I’m sorry.”

“What about your lunch break?” He seemed excited again. You looked at the time on your phone and realized you had already worked through your break.

“Already passed.” you sighed.

“If you’re staying late don’t you get another one later?” he asked curiously.

“Maybe but– it’s not enough time to go anywhere and I wouldn’t want you to feel like I’m rushing through it.” You heard him chuckle. “I’m sorry,” you repeated. “Can we reschedule?”

“Don’t worry about it doll. I’ve already got something in mind.” It was crazy but it’s almost as if you could  _ hear _ his smile through the phone– and it was contagious. You smiled to yourself, making sure no one was around to see you make a fool of yourself, then said goodbye to Bucky and got back to work.

* * *

(Bucky’s POV)

He hung up and immediately grabbed his jacket. Sam and Steve were sitting on the couch and looked up at him. “Where you rushing off to?” Steve asked.

“Gotta go pick up some stuff.” Bucky said as he looked for his apartment key. Sam reached across the coffee table where the key was and tossed it to him.

“Hey isn’t your date with y/n today?”

“Yeah, but she said she’s stuck at work.”

“That sucks, but you could always reschedule right?”

“Well,” Bucky finally stopped running around. “I have a better idea,” he said with a grin. “I’m headed to the grocery store to pick up some picnic foods. If she can’t make it to the date, I’ll just bring the date to her.” He looked proud of his idea, but Sam and Steve just looked at each other, then back at Bucky. “What?” His smile faded a little.

Sam spoke up first. “It’s just– if she’s stayin’ late for work, shouldn’t she be, I don’t know,  _ working _ ?”

“This job seemed really important to her, I wouldn’t want her to set a bad impression by being distracted,” Steve added.

“Don’t worry, I thought about that. I  _ know _ how important the job is to her… She said she had breaks, just not long enough to go out anywhere. I’ll just wait until her break and bring her the food. It’ll be fine, I know what I’m doing.” He was about to head for the door but he stopped and turned to Steve again. “That is– if  _ you’re _ still okay with it?”

Steve sighed. “For the hundredth time, Buck, yes just go out with her.” 

Bucky looked at Steve and nodded. “Alright.” He turned to leave. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He went down the elevator and caught a cab outside, then immediately started looking through the internet for picnic ideas. He thought the concept was great, but he had no idea what to buy. When he got to the grocery store, he headed straight for the bread. In case he couldn’t put together a decent meal, he figured he couldn’t go wrong with some bread and cheese with wine.  _ Wait a minute _ , he thought.  _ She’s working you idiot, she can’t drink… _ He put the wine back and headed in a different direction. Normally, Steve was the one that did the cooking, so he felt a little out of his league here, but it was worth it to try to impress you.

He got the bread, cheese, some meats, a basket, and some other stuff. On his way out of the store, he walked past the candy aisle and decided to get one final treat. He spent ten minutes trying to pick out a box of chocolates, considering so many of them had things that sounded nasty… He finally picked one out and headed to the checkout lanes. He paid for all the supplies and checked the time.  _ 4:00 already, shit. _ He knew if he was gonna have time to figure everything out and put it together, he’d have to hurry. He got a cab back to the apartment and set all the stuff down. He was gonna ask for Sam’s help in making the food but he was nowhere to be found, so he knocked on Steve’s door.

“Come in,” he heard from the other side. He opened the door and saw Steve getting up from the floor. “What’s up?”

“Am I interrupting anything?”

“No, just doing some workouts.”

“Right.” He knew Steve spent a lot of time at the gym whenever he was stressed out.  _ Could this be that? _ “You seen Sam? I wanted to ask him something.”

“No, he said he had somewhere to be and just left. I was gonna ask you about that actually– he seem a bit off to you?” He sat on the edge of his bed.

“Sam? Uh– no not really. Why do you ask?”

“He’s gone a lot lately. Says he’s got stuff to do but never really says what it is… He hasn’t talked to you about that?”

Bucky realized what he was talking about. The truth was that Sam was looking for a new place. He got a promotion at his job at the VA, and could finally afford to move out. He just didn’t want to mention anything to Steve until it was a certain thing. “No, no he hasn’t said anything… I’m sure it’ll make sense soon enough…”

Steve looked at him, confused, but just shrugged it off. “What were you gonna ask him, maybe I can help.”

“Oh well I– um, nevermind it’s fine.” Bucky turned to go to the kitchen but Steve followed him.

“No really, Buck what is it?”

Bucky turned around and sighed. “I’m– I wanna pack a picnic for y/n like I said but,” he chuckled at himself. “I’ve got no clue what I’m doing.”

Steve looked at the floor, then back to Bucky. “C’mon, I’ll help you.”

* * *

Steve had helped Bucky make mini sandwiches that tasted  _ delicious _ , wraps, arranged some fruit, and made drinks. He even got some chocolate that they had and made chocolate covered strawberries. He helped organize everything into the basket and Bucky was out the door.  _ 7:30, okay that’s fine. _ He got a cab and headed straight for the Stark building. He walked up to the receptionist in the lobby and realized he needed to know what floor you were on, so he asked for Pepper’s office.

“Do you have a meeting scheduled?” the lady asked.

“No I’m here to visit someone, she’s Pepper’s assistant, I  _ just _ need to know what floor she works on.

“I’m sorry, sir, no one is allowed into the offices without proper clearance.”

“No– c’mon please, she works here! I just need–”

“Barnes?” Bucky turned around and saw Tony walking toward him. “What are you doing here?”

Bucky tried to position himself to block Tony’s view of the basket, but did a poor job at it. “Uhh, I’m here to…” He remembered you didn’t want Tony to know you worked here, so he had to come up with a different excuse. “see Pepper! Yeah uh, what floor is her office on again?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “You’re here to see my wife?”

_ Shit. _

“Are you sure you’re not here to see her  _ assistant _ ? The lovely, y/n?”

Bucky relaxed a bit. “Wait you know–”

“That she works here? Of course I do, I’m the head of the company. I know everything that goes on around here.”

“Right… Well, yeah. Yeah I’m here to see y/n… We kinda had a date tonight but she stayed late to help Pepper with something. Wanted to be a good assistant or something like that. Anyway I wanted to surprise her.” He nudged his head toward the basket.

“Wow she’s really dedicated, huh? Well, come on. This way Romeo, I’m sure she can spare some time.” Tony led Bucky to an elevator and hit the floor button where you worked. The doors opened and they both stepped out, then Tony turned to him. “Wait here.”

* * *

(Y/n’s POV)

You sat in Pepper’s office typing away on your computer, looking back every once in a while at the papers containing new project info. You heard a knock and saw Tony standing in the doorway.

“Pep can I talk to you for a second?” Tony motioned for her to step out of the office.

“Sure. Be right back,” she said to you as she walked outside. You kept working, trying not to worry about what they could be talking about, then Pepper came back about a minute later. “Y/n we’ve been at this for a while, why don’t you go take a little break?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah it’s fine,” she said in a light tone. “Go relax at your desk for a bit,” She smiled.

“Uh– okay,” you replied. You finished what you were typing and stood up. Admittedly, it felt good to stretch your legs. You made your way back to your desk and were surprised when you felt hands cover your eyes from behind you.

“Guess who, doll.”

“Bucky?” You smiled and turned to face him. “Bucky! What are you doing here?”

“Well you said you weren’t gonna be able to make it to our date, so I brought the date to you.” He held up a picnic basket filled with food and drinks. You gasped a little.

“That’s so romantic,” you smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he said softly. There was no one else around, so you pushed a few of the desks apart and made room on the floor, then one by one he took everything out of the basket. He grabbed some plates and then some cups. “It might not be a fancy restaurant, but how would you like some cocktails?”

“I’d love– wait. I’m still at work Bucky,” you chuckled.

“Oh, are you?” he asked sarcastically as he looked around. Then leaned in closer. “Then I guess it’s a good thing they’re  _ virgin _ cocktails.” He winked then poured some into a cup for you, then one for himself.

“You really did think of everything didn’t you?” You smiled. He shrugged as he brought the cup to his lips, and you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of him. You took a sip of your own drink, and started to grab some of the food he laid out. He brought a pretty impressive spread-- sandwiches, fruits, drinks, and desserts. A whole meal, really. After eating, you noticed something still sitting in the basket. “What’s that?”

Bucky reached in and handed you a heart shaped box. “For you.” He motioned around the room. “I know this might not have been what you expected but, I figured I could still add  _ some _ of the cheesiness of a first date.” 

That made you laugh. He was right, this was anything  _ but _ the stereotypical first date, but in a way, it was better. You didn’t have to worry about the way you were dressed, or what other people thought of you. It was just you and him. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Bucky.”

“Ah it was nothing, doll. Trust me, our second date will be much better. That is– if you don’t try to blow me off again,” he joked.

“ _ Second _ date, huh?” you raised your eyebrows at him.

“Well, not to be too forward or anything but, I am  _ very _ charming.” He smirked and winked at you, then leaned back on his arms. Just then, Tony came back out.

“Real smooth, Barnes.”

You and Bucky both looked up at him.

“Y/n, Pepper’s all finished up, you can take the rest of the night.”

“Wait really?” You stood up. “I thought we still had another fundraiser to organize?”

“Taken care of.”

You gave him a skeptical look.

“Just go, trust me, uh– boss’ orders. Go.”

You looked down at Bucky for a brief second before you both started to pack the food back inside the basket. You stood up and walked over to Tony.

“Pepper says you’re a great assistant, y’know.”

You smiled in response. “Well for what it’s worth, she’s already the best boss I’ve ever had.” Bucky grabbed everything and joined you.

“You all set, doll?”

You grabbed your keys off of your desk. “Yep, good to go.” You smiled up at him and he extended his arm toward the elevator.

“Lead the way.”

You walked to the elevator, pushed the button, and turned to see Bucky still with Tony. You couldn’t really hear them, and you weren’t trying to pry, but you caught the end of Tony’s sentence.  _ ‘Don’t fuck it up, Barnes. Not again. _ ’ Bucky stared at the floor, then up at Tony. You turned back around and hoped he didn’t see you staring.  _ What did he mean ‘not again’? _ Before you were lost in your own thoughts, Bucky caught up to you.

“So-- where should we go?” The elevator doors opened and you both stepped inside.

“Well it’d be a shame to waste any of this food,” you said, looking inside the basket.

“It’s a bit chilly for a real picnic though, isn’t it?” He was right, the weather in between winter and spring was constantly fluctuating, and it was pretty cold tonight– but that wasn’t what you were suggesting.

“What if we go back to my place? Well– my Avery’s place, but she should be out pretty late with friends.”

“Yeah that sounds good. I’d invite you to  _ my _ apartment but I’m not sure having a date with two other guys present would be very romantic.” He chuckled. You admired his smile. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners, and his nose scrunched up a bit. It was adorable. It wasn’t the first time you had noticed, and definitely not the last.

“Right, so how are Sam and Steve?” You stepped out of the elevator and walked through the lobby. You noticed Bucky’s smile fall a little, but he shook it off and was back to normal in a split second.

“Uh– yeah they’re– they’re fine. Hey if I tell you something, you promise not to tell Steve?”

“Uh–”

“I hate keeping secrets from him and I’ve just gotta get it out, y’know? It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

“Sure. What is it?”

Bucky took a breath before continuing. “Sam’s moving out.” You turned to him in shock. You weren’t sure why, it wasn’t like you knew them that well. Maybe just the build-up Bucky made before saying it. “Well, not yet but– he got a job as a sort of therapist at the VA, or something like that. It pays better than his last job and he’ll have enough to rent out his own apartment now. He just didn’t wanna tell Steve until everything was finalized.”

You got to the exit and Bucky held the door for you. “Thanks,” you said as you walked through. “So it’s just gonna be you and Steve then?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Back to how it was when we were kids I guess.”

“It was just the two of you?”

“Well– we weren’t kids, kids. He was 18 when his mother died, and I didn’t want him to be in their apartment alone, so I moved in with him.”

You got to the street and called a cab. On the ride back to your apartment, Bucky told you about how he and Steve seemed to be inseparable since they were younger, and that at this point, he couldn’t imagine life without him. He also mentioned that when Sam came along, he fit right in with the pair. He was worried about how Steve was gonna take him moving out, considering they’ve had a pretty consistent life for a few years now. 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. It’s not like he’s moving across the country, right?”

“Yeah I guess you’re right. Just kinda feel bad for him, after the whole Sharon– uh.” He didn’t mean to mention her, it just slipped out. “Well we were starting to get into a pattern. No big changes for a while, y’know? It was nice, and I think Steve started getting used to it.”

You walked to your apartment and went upstairs. You unlocked the door and cautiously walked through. “Avery?” You looked around. No response. You turned to Bucky. “Guess I was right. Come on in.”

He stepped through and looked around. “Nice apartment, what does your friend do?”

“Oh she– um… Actually I’m not sure.” You laughed. Bucky just stood awkwardly in the room. “Here let me,” you took the basket from his hand and placed it on the counter. “Come sit,” you said as you pulled out one of the bar stools. He walked over and sat down beside you. “So– not that your mocktails weren’t absolutely delicious, but do you want a drink?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’d be great thanks.”

You grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and made a mental note to repay Avery for it later, then grabbed two glasses. You poured a bit in both and handed one to Bucky.

“Thanks,” he repeated.

“No problem.” You sat back down in the seat next to his and took a sip of your drink.

“So.”

“Soo?”

He chuckled and you once again found yourself admiring his smile. This time more focused on his eyes. They were beautiful. The prettiest steel blue eyes you’d ever seen. You could spend hours just looking at him, but snapped out of it when he continued talking. “ _ So,  _ tell me more about yourself. I really only know the basics, y’know. Like the fact that you lived upstate, and that you ended up in the city running from your ex,  _ somehow _ without a working phone or any money.” He teased you about it, but in a joking way. “I guess I should be thankful for that though, because whatever happened that night led to us meeting.”

You thought back to that night again and what happened was that Steve saved you. Plain and simple.  _ Stop it, y/n. You’re with Bucky, not Steve… _ “You’re right, I guess it did lead to all this. That night was honestly one of the worst, but I guess it turned out okay.” You smiled and your eyes drifted from his eyes, to his lips, then back up. Bucky smiled softly back at you, and reached his hand out. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear, and kept his hand there, holding you with the softest touch.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. Your breath shuddered, and your heart beat faster with the feeling of his touch on your skin. You felt yourself leaning forward, and he did the same, meeting you halfway. Your lips were inches from each other, then he stopped. “I’m sorry,” he said as he pressed his forehead to yours. He sighed and repeated himself. “I’m so sorry, I– I can’t.”


End file.
